Our Big Little Boy

We've got big news. Asher went potty in the toilet! He's been asking to go to the potty lately so we've been playing along and sitting him on the pot as long as he's interested. Apparently, some of his friends at day care are working on potty training and Ash wants to join in the fun. We don't know what we are doing, but his sitter says just keep responding to his requests until we are ready to get serious with potty training. He's also been working on sleeping in a bed like the big kids and that's a struggle, but tonight he just went to sleep without the usually game of cat and mouse! Can I get a hallelujah!?

I Better Get An 'A'!

Many may know, I have been designing a group manual for my MSW program. The idea was to develop a life skills group for adolescent fathers that runs for 8 weeks. I developed eight sessions that covered the following topics: 1) GED and educational advancement, 2) employment and job skills, 3) applying for government assistance, 4) creating and living by a budget, 5) safe sex education, 6) basic infant care.

I finished the manual, took it to CopyMax to print it off (wanted to save some money/ink cartridges), and bound it. The manual is about 500 pages. Yep, that is not a typo. I did not know when I compiled it that the thing was so large.

Anyway, I took it to CopyMax to print it out (78 pg black/white; 378 pg color). There were no prices posted at CopyMax or their website on price per sheet. So, I figured I would be out about $50 or so when I went in the store. However, when the guy told be the price and I let a swear word slip. Grand total= $219.00

Just so everyone knows, a black/white copy is $.09; a color copy is $.49. Yep, $.40 difference. If I would had known that, I would have made everything black/white and spent the rest of the money on a new TV or something.

The group manual looks fantastic, and I had better get an A. I am still in shock over the price though...

Operation

Yesterday I found out I have endometriosis in addition to polycystic ovarian syndrome. My wonderful doctor did a laperoscopy yesterday and found that I had some adhesions from the endo that had glued one of my ovaries to my pelvic wall. I am so glad to have found the source of my pain! I'm grateful to live in a time where we have the tools to take care of these issues and allow people to continue to have children.

Recovering from surgery wasn't the way I planned on spending my long weekend, but that's life. My dad is in town right now and he and Aaron were able to give me a blessing on thursday night. I love those two men very much and can't express how they have enriched my life and made me a better person. The two of them are doing a great job keeping Ash away from my stomach. According to instructions, I'm not supposed to lift anything over 10 pounds for two weeks....which is going to prove a little tricky.

IDEAS NEEDED

It is official--the second semester is underway. I am in need of some help from the vast community of blogging land for an assignment that I have. I am in need of some ideas for the project. So, let me explain the project and you can post your suggestions (humorous or serious).

I have been given the assignment to create a group therapy manual from scratch. The group needs to be 8 sessions (8 weeks long) complete with agendas & activities. I have decided I want to create a life skills group for expecting adolescent fathers. As a side note, the current research is claiming that adolescents range from 12-23. So the question I propose to you is what kind of life skills do you think would be nice to address in a group like this?

Here is the list I have thought about thus far...

• Job training (i.e., applying for work, interview skills, resume building)
• Applying for government assistance (i.e., health care, food stamps, WIC)
• Basic Automobile maintenance
• Budgeting
• GED resources

The Four F's: Family, Football, Food, and Finals

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend was different for us this year than previous years. The actual holiday was spent with my sister, Lynnette, and her family up in Anthem (about 45 mins away from Tempe). Trine & I made the stuffing, the garlic potatoes, and the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (no one is a big fan of pumpkin pie). Lynnette provided the turkey and all the other fixings. Oh, and she made a killer homemade apple pie!

Following the meal, everyone watched the Cowboy's game (the second sporting event I have watched since we moved to AZ). We did not actually play football though. I missed the turkey bowl that my family usually has during Thanksgiving because it is the only time during the year that everyone plays a recreational activity regardless of age or athletic ability.

Asher loves going to Lynnette's house because he is able to play with her kids, their toys, an occasional piano key, their dog Sophie, and the newly discovered trampoline. The entire day he was either sneaking out the doggy door and up the ladder to the trampoline, playing with a kitchen set, or playing with the girl's doll house. Seriously, he spent many hours playing with the doll house and accessories it was so funny.

Thanksgiving evening was spent taking family pictures at the park. Lynnette was kind enough to use her photography skills to take some pictures for us. We got pictures that we will be using for Christmas cards, so you will have to wait to see those. But here is a few other pictures:

The remainder of our Thanksgiving holiday was spent at home with me working on school work...there is no rest for graduate school. I am happy, and relieved, to report that at the time of this post I have officially complete the first semester. That means I am 25% of the way done with my training! It also means I am can relax for 6 weeks before school starts again.

Milestone

I've finally blogged one hundred posts. Actually I know it's more than that, but I've had a few deleted posts every now and again. Aaron said that in honor of this milestone I should write about something spectacular. So I thought I'd write about my awesome hair today.

Hair is a huge deal for me. Growing up, I remember my dad doing my hair in braids with beads at the end. Anything I wanted done my dad could make a reality. My hair was long and thick. Then when I was around eight I got it into my head that my hair wasn't "good,"so I begged my dad to relax it. For those of you who don't know lots of African-American women chemically relax their hair. Against his better judgement my hair was relaxed and then if fell out. I had to cut it all off into a very short little afro and I remember feeling like the ugliest duckling.

It wasn't until two years ago that I finally stopped relaxing my hair decided to go natural. Aaron has been super supportive and my sisters have actually ditched their relaxers too. They have the cutest afros! What I have discovered with my natural hair is versatility, I'm not afraid of how it looks coming out of my head. I no longer think of my hair as something to be tamed or managed. In fact, this week is the first time since I was eight that I actually wore an afro. The first day I was really nervous but as the week wore on the freedom of not worrying about my hair every morning was amazing!

Here's a picture of my rockin' afro! Thanks to Aaron for his twisting assistance.

Pvt. Nelson

I've just been called to my first tour of duty in primary! For the foreseeable future I will be working in the nursery. Asher is allowed to come with me, which is nice since he'd just be in the hall anyway. Honestly, I found myself a little overwhelmed today with 12 kids. There are two other women in the nursery too, but it's still more kids than I've been responsible for at one time. Just uncharted territory. For example, I'm not sure how to navigate potty training. Do I just take the child by myself or should I get their parents? I think I'd want to do that myself with Asher, but different strokes and all of that. People get touchy about their kids and I don't want any parents upset with me. (Nicole, none of the above scenarios are about R.) Today's lesson I learned in nursery is that apples don't have skins on them at church. So funny!